Bilderberg group summit: Cameron attendance at ‘cliche fest’ damned

David Cameron has been accused of joining the “unaccountable clique of Davos men” after he attended the secretive Bilderberg group meeting at the luxury Grove hotel in Watford, a move that raised questions about his pledge to lead Britain’s most transparent government.

Douglas Carswell, the Tory MP who campaigns for transparency in government, said the prime minister was taking part in a “cliche fest” whose participants had helped crash the global financial system. Davos is the town in Switzerland that hosts an annual meeting of global political and business leaders.

Cameron came under fire after Downing Street said it was acting in an open manner by publicising his attendance at the annual Bilderberg meeting in advance. The prime minister’s spokesman, who said heads of government of countries hosting the annual Bilderberg meeting were usually invited to attend, said it would be a private event and that civil servants would not accompany Cameron.

Ministers are usually expected to be accompanied by civil service note-takers when they meet business leaders. Henri de Castries, the chairman and CEO of Axa Group, is the Bilderberg chairman.